मातृभाषा के माध्यम से शिक्षा का महत्व

भाषा संवाद का एक माध्यम है जिसका उपयोग विचारों के आदान-प्रदान के लिए किया जाता है। ये सामान्यतः मौखिक अथवा लिखित प्रकार की होती है। अमरीका के प्रसिद्ध भाषा-प्रवीण चार्ल्स डोककेट्ट ने मनुष्य भाषा को अन्य प्रकार की भाषाओं अथवा संवाद के प्रकारों से अलग करने के लिए एक उपयोगी सुझाव दिया था। उन्होने मनुष्य भाषा के कुछ प्रमुख लक्षण रेखांकित किए जिनके आधार पर मनुष्य भाषा को अन्य प्रकार की भाषाओं (जैसे जानवरों की भाषा) से विभाजित किया जा सकता है। एक लक्षण जो उन्होने रेखांकित किया वह था कि मनुष्य भाषा को सीखने की आवश्यकता होती है और यह एक व्यक्ति, समाज एवं अन्य मनुष्यों से, उनके मध्य रहने से, उनके साथ संवाद करने इत्यादि से अर्जित करता है। भाषा विशेषज्ञों ने शोध करके यह स्थापित किया है कि कोई भी व्यक्ति जो पहली भाषा अर्जित करता है, उसे अर्जित करने के लिए एक समय सीमा होती है जिसे ‘क्रिटिकल पीरियड’ कहा जाता है। अर्थात, यदि इस समय सीमा में व्यक्ति किसी कारण से पहली भाषा का ज्ञान अर्जित नहीं कर पाता तो इस अवधि के समाप्त होने के उपरांत वह व्यक्ति कोई भी भाषा सम्पूर्ण कुशलता से अर्जित नहीं कर पाएगा और हमेशा भाषा ज्ञान से हीन ही रह जाएगा। सामान्यतः यह अवधि व्यक्ति के लगभग 12 साल के होने तक मानी जाती है। भाषा विशेषज्ञों के सामने कुछ ऐसे केस भी आए हैं जिनके द्वारा ‘क्रिटिकल पीरियड’ के सिद्धांत की पुष्टि हुई है। उदाहरण स्वरूप, अमरीका में लॉस एंजिल्स में जीनी नामक एक कन्या का केस देखा गया है। जीनी को 13 वर्ष की उम्र में उसके घर से मुक्त किया गया। उसके माता पिता ने उसे एक अंधेरे कमरे में बांध कर रखा था और उससे किसी प्रकार की कोई बात-चीत नहीं की जाती थी। परिणाम स्वरूप जीनी कुछ शब्दों के अतिरिक्त कुछ बोल नहीं सकती थी। जब उसे भाषा ज्ञान दिया भी गया तब भी वह कुछ शब्द ही सीख पायी और वाक्य बनाना उसके लिए कभी संभव नहीं हो सका। उसके दिमाग पर शोध करने पर यह ज्ञात हुआ की उसके दिमाग का बायाँ भाग जो भाषा ज्ञान के लिए प्रयोग होता है, वह उचित प्रकार से विकसित ही नहीं हो पाया था और क्यूंकि वह अब लगभग 12 साल से ऊपर हो चुकी थी, बाएँ भाग का विकास अब संभव नहीं हो पा रहा था, अतः उसका भाषा ज्ञान भी विकसित नहीं हो सका। इस उदाहरण से इस बात की भी पुष्टि होती है कि भाषा ज्ञान के लिए (कम से कम पहली भाषा के विकास के लिए) समाज में सामान्य रूप से रहना, आपस में सामान्य रूप से वार्तालाप करना इत्यादि अत्यंत आवश्यक है। इस सामान्यता के अभाव में भाषा के सम्पूर्ण विकास की संभावना न्यूनतम हो जाती है। इसके साथ ही यह भी अत्यंत आवश्यक है कि यह सामान्यता हर बच्चे को कम से कम 12-13 वर्ष की आयु तक प्राप्त हो।

यह समझने के उपरांत कि भाषा क्या होती है तथा उस का ज्ञान किस प्रकार प्राप्त होता है, अब मातृभाषा, उसके ज्ञान और शिक्षा में उसके महत्व पर कुछ विस्तृत चर्चा करना उपयुक्त होगा। साधारण शब्दों में, मातृभाषा उसे कह सकते हैं जिसका उपयोग एक व्यक्ति के घर में सामान्य वार्तालाप में किया जाता हो। अतः कोई भी बच्चा सबसे पहले अपनी मातृभाषा के ही संपर्क में आता है और सबसे पहले उसे ही अर्जित करता है। मातृभाषा को अर्जित करना किसी भी बच्चे के लिए एक स्वाभाविक क्रिया होती है। कम से कम मौखिक स्तर पर मातृभाषा एक व्यक्ति द्वारा सबसे पहले और बिना किसी अतिरिक्त परिश्रम के अर्जित की जाती है। कोई भी व्यक्ति अपनी मातृभाषा में संवाद करने में अथवा उसका उपयोग करने में सबसे अधिक आश्वस्त महसूस करता है। इससे भी अधिकतर महत्व की बात यह है कि कोई भी व्यक्ति किसी भी भाषा में कितना भी प्रवीण क्यों ना हो, वह साधारणतः अपनी मातृभाषा में ही सोचता है।

यदि हम किसी प्रकार के भी ज्ञान अर्जन की बात करें तो उसे दो भागों में विभाजित किया जा सकता है। इसका विस्तार मैं एक उदाहरण के द्वारा करना चाहूंगी। कल्पना कीजिये कि आपको किसी विषय, जैसे कि, समाज शास्त्र का ज्ञान अर्जित करना है। यह ज्ञान अर्जित करने के लिए आपको इस विषय का मूल ज्ञान अर्जित करना होगा। परंतु उससे पूर्व इस विषय का मूल ज्ञान अर्जित करने के लिए आपके पास उस भाषा का ज्ञान होना अनिवार्य है जिस भाषा में यह मूल ज्ञान आप तक पहुंचेगा। यदि आपको इस मूल ज्ञान को कुशलता से अर्जित करना है तो यह अनिवार्य हो जाता है कि जिस भाषा में यह मूल ज्ञान आपको प्रस्तुत कराया जाये, उस भाषा में आप प्रवीण हों ताकि आपका सारा समय भाषा को समझने में ही न व्यतीत हो जाये। सामान्यतः हमारी मातृभाषा ही वह भाषा होती है जिसमें हमें अधिकतम प्रवीणता प्राप्त होती है। अतः मातृभाषा में शिक्षा का महत्व स्वतः ही प्रतीत है।

अब एक दूसरे दृष्टिकोण से सोचने का प्रयास करते हैं। कई बार खासकर भारत में यह देखा गया है कि बहुत से लोग अंग्रेज़ी भाषा में अपने विचारों को व्यक्त करने में सबसे ज़्यादा आश्वस्त महसूस करते हैं, हालांकि अंग्रेज़ी हमारी मातृभाषा नहीं है। इसका कारण यह हो सकता है कि इन व्यक्तियों ने अंग्रेज़ी भाषा का ज्ञान इतने कुशल रूप से अर्जित किया है कि वह सबसे ज़्यादा आश्वस्त इस भाषा में महसूस करते हैं। कुशल रूप से ज्ञान अर्जित करने के बाद उनके आश्वस्त होने का एक और कारण यह भी हो सकता है कि अंग्रेज़ी भाषा का अधिकतम उपयोग करने के कारण अब वह उसमें ही अधिक आश्वस्त महसूस करते हों। अगर हम कुछ और गंभीरता से विचार करें तो हमें यह स्पष्ट हो जाएगा कि किसी अन्य भाषा में प्रवीणता प्राप्त करने के लिए भी मातृभाषा में शुरुआती शिक्षा का ही महत्व है। क्योंकि यह स्पष्ट है कि सबसे पहले कोई भी व्यक्ति मातृभाषा से ही संपर्क में आता है, अतः दूसरी कोई भी भाषा अर्जित करने के लिए उसे अतिरिक्त परिश्रम करना पड़ता है, इसलिए यह भी स्पष्ट है कि दूसरी भाषा अर्जित करने के लिए अथवा उसको सबसे पहले समझने के लिए मातृभाषा का ही उपयोग किया जाएगा। अतः शिक्षा के विषय पर जो भी शोध हुए हैं उनमें भी ये ही सामने आया है की कम से कम शुरुआती शिक्षा के स्तर पर वही शिक्षा प्रणाली कारगर है जो मातृभाषा के माध्यम से अन्य विषयों (कम से कम दूसरी भाषाओं का ज्ञान) का ज्ञान प्रदान करे। इस प्रकार कम से कम प्राथमिक शिक्षा के लिए मातृभाषा का उपयोग अत्यंत महत्वपूर्ण माना गया है।

इसके अतिरिक्त भी भारत जैसे देश में, जहां अत्यधिक लोग बहुभाषी हैं एवं जहां हर प्रांत में एक अलग भाषा बोली जाती है, वहाँ मातृभाषा का शिक्षा प्रणाली में महत्व स्वतः ही बढ़ जाता है। इसे भी एक उदाहरण के द्वारा समझाने का मेरा प्रयत्न है। एक बहुभाषी देश में कार्य करने के लिए दो प्रान्तों के लोगों के बीच में एक ऐसी भाषा का होना आवश्यक है जो दोनों को अच्छे प्रकार से ज्ञात हो। इस दूसरी भाषा को कोई भी छात्र सुचारु रूप से तभी सीख पाएगा जब उस भाषा की शिक्षा मातृभाषा के उपयोग से प्रदान की जाये न कि छात्रों को केवल रटने पर मजबूर किया जाये। अतः मातृभाषा में कम से कम प्राथमिक शिक्षा के विकास से ही इस बहुभाषी देश को एक धागे में पिरो के रखा जा सकता है। जब तक मातृभाषा का उपयोग शिक्षा प्रणाली में सुचारु रूप से नहीं होगा तब तक अन्य किसी भाषा या विषय का ज्ञान भी सुचारु रूप से प्रदान करना संभव नहीं हो पाएगा। जिस प्रकार एक कमज़ोर नींव पर खड़ी इमारत अत्यधिक समय तक नहीं टिक सकती, उसी प्रकार मातृभाषा को महत्व न देकर यदि किसी अन्य भाषा के द्वारा शिक्षा अथवा दूसरी भाषाओं का ज्ञान प्रदान किया गया तो वह शिक्षा केवल ऊपरी स्तर तक ही सीमित रह जाएगी और कोई भी छात्र सम्पूर्ण रूप से अपने विचारों को विकसित एवं प्रसारित नहीं कर पाएगा।

एक और गौर करने वाली बात यह भी है कि भारत में आज भी केवल 10 प्रतिशत लोग ही अंग्रेज़ीभाषी हैं। इसके अतिरिक्त 30 से 40 प्रतिशत लोग हिंदीभाषी हैं (इनकी मातृभाषा हिन्दी ही है)। अन्य लोग अपनी-अपनी मातृभाषा (जो कि उनके प्रांत में बोली जाती है) का ही उपयोग करते हैं। अतः शिक्षा को सब तक पहुंचाने के लिए यह अनिवार्य ही हो जाता है कि मातृभाषा का प्रयोग शिक्षा प्रणाली में अधिकतम हो और मातृभाषा के माध्यम से उच्चतम कोटि की शिक्षा प्रदान की जाये।

अंततः जबकि मातृभाषा का शिक्षा में महत्व पूर्णतः सिध्ध हो चुका है, तथापि मैं यह ज़रूर कहना चाहूंगी कि केवल मातृभाषा तक सीमित रह जाना भी सही नहीं होगा। एक व्यक्ति के पूर्ण विकास के लिए और इस देश के विकास के लिए ऐसी भाषाओं के ज्ञान को भी प्रोत्साहित करना अत्यावश्यक है जो कि पूरे विश्व में मान्य हों (जैसे कि अंग्रेज़ी, जो विश्व में अधिकतम रूप से मान्य है), और जिनके उपयोग से हर भारतवासी देश-विदेश में सफलता प्राप्त कर सके।

Understanding the ‘constitution’ of our democracy

Understanding political science

Political science, in simple terms, is a branch of social science that deals with political institutions and processes, the structures and functions of the government and the state at various levels and the way the political power relationships work. A closer look at the theoretical and practical aspects of political science will reveal that its domain encompasses a study and understanding of the sources, structures, distribution and practices of power and resources. This would mean an in-depth understanding of the letter and spirit of the Constitution as the fountainhead, the various structures and functions emanating from it, and the interplay between these. The practice of political science, shall however, remain incomplete if it fails to study and understand the interface between politics and society and the role that politics and power plays in the day-to day life of an ordinary citizen.

Rationale for its inclusion in the teaching-learning process in schools

The day of the birth of an individual bestows upon her, among others, a political identity as well. An individual born in India, for example, becomes a citizen of India, by virtue of her having been born on the Indian soil. She now has certain rights and duties (some of them of course to be activated at an appropriate age) applicable to her in common with all the other citizens of India, drawn from the Constitution of India. Thus, any individual, by default, is also a political being and has a political identity which cannot be separated from her. Just as the individual is socialized into her family and the society, both by virtue of being a part of that family and society, and also through conscious efforts put in by the family and society; similarly, the individual, by virtue of being born in a particular form of political system, is circumscribed by the boundaries of that system, and hence, even if no particular effort is made to politically educate her, she will imbibe certain political character anyway. It, thus, becomes even more imperative for the education system to take up the responsibility of ensuring that the individual develops a mature understanding of the political system, is able to develop a voice and exercise her choices based on critical reasoning and holistic understanding of all the aspects in any given situation.

Political science, being a branch of the broader domain of social sciences, also carries the responsibilities that have been placed on the larger domain of social sciences. The Position Paper by the National Focus Group on Teaching of Social Sciences, 2006, explains the responsibilities placed on the domain of social sciences in the following terms: “The social sciences carry a normative responsibility to create and widen the popular base for human values, namely freedom, trust, mutual respect, respect for diversity, etc.”

The appropriate age of inclusion of teaching-learning of political science in schools

Having established the rationale behind the teaching-learning of political science, the next question that arises is what can be the suitable time for integrating discussions of this nature in the school curriculum. Here, it would be useful to take recourse to the Piagetian model of cognitive development. Piaget was a proponent of the constructivist theory of learning.

According to Piaget, when formal operational thought of cognitive development is attained (adolescence to adulthood), thinking in abstractions, formulation of hypotheses, understanding complex inter-relationships, etc., is possible. After this, no new structures are needed. According to this model, a child, after reaching the stage of upper-primary in school education, would thus be capable of formal operational thinking, hence the appropriateness of this age-group for the introduction of political science in schools, integrated with other social-science disciplines. The Position Paper by the National Focus Group on Teaching of Social Sciences, 2006, also seems to concur with the above inference.

The spaces for inclusion of teaching-learning of political science in schools

Proceeding now to the next logical question of how political science can be integrated seamlessly into the classroom. To understand this, we will have to deal with both the aspects of the teaching-learning process, i.e., curriculum and pedagogy.

Providing curricular space to political science

The Position Paper by the National Focus Group on Teaching of Social Sciences, 2006, and the National Curricular Framework, 2005 have acknowledged the need for providing curricular space to political science. Consequently, the nomenclature for “Civics” has been changed to “Social and Political Life”, for the upper-primary classes, in the NCERT curriculum. The textbooks for classes VI-VIII do a commendable job in living up to the objectives for social sciences teaching set out by NCF, 2005.

 

I would like to make a mention here of another three year supplementary curriculum designed by Avehi Abacus Organization for the students of classes V-VII. The Avehi Abacus project has been working with municipal schools and non-formal education centres in Mumbai and outside since 1990 (Avehi Abacus Team, Acknowledgements, 2001).Titled, Sangati, this curriculum is transacted in the form of six kits (two each) from classes V-VII in all the municipal schools of Mumbai. This three-year supplementary curriculum has been envisaged with a vision to fulfil the objectives of education, to ‘equip children with the knowledge and skills that they will need to face the world, to build values that will help them take care of themselves and contribute to the society they live in and to bring about a positive change in individuals and society’ (Avehi Abacus Team, Dear Teacher..., 2001). The fourth kit, namely, ‘The Way We Live’, turns the focus to the Indian society of today, the problems that we face and how these can be understood and resolved. Various issues are discussed in this kit, like, caste, religious and gender discrimination, economic inequalities, the meaning of patriotism and democracy, etc. The topics that have been discussed are all really relevant and which need to be understood by the students in their correct perspective for them to be able to contribute positively towards making our society a better place to live in. A very enabling curricular space has been created here for meaningful and relevant political discussions.

 

Political science and pedagogy

 

To render any curriculum effective, the classroom teaching needs to be able to shift from didactic to dialogic. Teachers need to be able to discuss each and every issue threadbare, keeping aside their biases and prejudices, and providing multifarious perspectives on viewpoints on things. Teachers need to be able to push students to think critically and reason things out. The classroom space needs to be such that teachers and students don’t have a hierarchical relationship where the teacher is supposed to know all and transmit that knowledge to students, but it should be a space where all are learners on the path of knowledge acquisition. The Vygotskian concept of “More knowledgeable other” and “scaffolding” can aptly describe such classrooms.

I would now like to exemplify how the creation of such an enabling environment is possible in the class. To do so, the backing of a strong and enabling curriculum is of utmost importance, because if so, the curriculum itself can sufficiently guide the teacher in steering the discussion in such a manner that it becomes interesting and challenges the minds of the students. As the Sangati curriculum (mentioned above), in my view performs this role to a near perfect level, I would like to borrow my example from this curriculum itself. In Kit IV of the curriculum, there is a session/chapter on ‘patriotism’. The ‘Main ideas’ sought to be conveyed through this chapter themselves give an indication of what is to follow. In brief, these aim at deconstructing the idea and meaning of the term ‘patriotism’, whether it means only to express one’s love for one’s country through symbolic acts or by hating the ‘enemy’ countries, or it can mean much more as in to fight problems like poverty, inequality, illiteracy, etc., and to realize one’s full potential to ultimately benefit the nation.

In order to convey these main ideas, there are various activities and interactive sessions envisaged, along with some meaningful questions, leading to certain open and critical discussions. As an example, the session/chapter begins with the story of Jarnail Singh, who is a 16-17 year old boy, and is writing a personal diary, wherein he conveys his dilemma of not wanting to join the armed forces while his entire family wants him to. Through the diary the ideas of what patriotism means, the various problems afflicting our society, and how Jarnail Singh wants to contribute towards ameliorating them, etc., are discussed. In the end, a very rich and meaningful discussion is attempted through questions like “Do you agree with Jarnail Singh’s view that there are many ways to serve your nation? Do you think Jarnail Singh is a patriot? Why? Should one’s patriotism make one hate other countries and fight wars with them? Students are further encouraged to think about and discuss various problems like corruption, inequality, etc.

Through such meaningful activities, discussions and questions, political science can be made really relevant, interesting, and meaningful in the classroom space. The above is a demonstration of the kind of pedagogy that can result in an enriching learning experience for students. I do believe that curricular support is essential for the creation of such a pedagogic space. However, determined, thoughtful and resourceful teachers can make a conscious attempt to do this even in the absence of an enabling curriculum, by going beyond the textbooks. For instance, the concept of democracy may not be limited to just “a government for the people, by the people, and of the people”. Meaningful discussions can be held around this topic like relationship of democracy and equality, is meaningful democracy possible in an unequal atmosphere, is democracy only a political concept or mandates the presence of at least some sort of egalitarianism to make it truly meaningful, etc. However, this is not many a time possible as the prejudices and biases of the teacher, her socialization into the dominant perspectives, etc., play a crucial role in dampening the impact.

I would also like to highlight the role of a force that is outside the curriculum and the pedagogy, but has a substantial role to play in shaping both of them, as also what the students gather from the interplay of both of these. This force is the prevailing political discourse of the day, which is predominantly shaped by the ideology of the political party in power. A visible impact of the prevailing political atmosphere was in the students’ understanding of the concept of patriotism, when I actually got a chance to interact with them during the course of my field study. In terms of the understanding of what ‘patriotism’ means, an overwhelming majority related it to symbolic acts of respecting the national symbols like national anthem, national flag, etc. They also looked in awe of the armed forces of the nation. Such an understanding seems to concur with the general mood prevailing in the society.

Conclusion

Having understood the inseparability of our political identity from us, it is not only desirable but imperative to provide a sound and mature guidance to children, so that they can become well-informed thinking individuals and citizens, and are able to make intelligent and well thought out choices in any situation they might encounter. The form and content of political science education though, should be such that it promotes critical thinking and understanding in students and an acknowledgement of the presence of diverse perspectives, rather than a meek submission to the dominant perspective. The creation of this enabling teaching-learning atmosphere requires an enabling curriculum, pedagogy, and most importantly the promotion of the development of an independent perspective in the educational institutions, not influenced by the political ideology and prevailing political atmosphere of the time. Meeting this last requirement seems most daunting and challenging and will require dedicated and sincere efforts by the political class, if at all there is a willingness to adhere to this goal.

 

 

References

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_science

National Focus Group. (2005). National Focus Group on Teaching of Social Sciences.

Piaget’s stages of Cognitive Development. www.saylor.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/psych406-5.3.2.pdf

Vygotsky’s theory of cognitive development

Textbook Development Committee. (2005). Equality in Indian Democracy. In T. D., Social and Political Life II. New Delhi: NCERT Textbook Publishing Bureau.

Textbook Development Committee. (2005). Key Elements of a Democratic Government. In T. D., Social and Political Life I (pp. 36-40). New Delhi: NCERT Textbook Publishing Bureau.

Avehi Abacus Project. (n.d.). Avehi Abacus Project. Retrieved from www.avehiabacus.org: http://www.avehiabacus.org/sangati.html

Avehi Abacus Team. (2001). Acknowledgements. In A. A., Myself, My Body, Our Needs Needs - Sangati Kit I. Mumbai: Avehi Abacus Project.

Avehi Abacus Team. (2001). Dear Teacher... In A. A., Myself, My Body, Our Needs : Sangati Kit I. Mumbai: Avehi Abacus Project.

Avehi Abacus Team. (2003). Patriotism. In A. A., The Way We Live: Sangati Kit IV. Mumbai: Avehi abacus Project.

The Power of Grey – Towards a harmonious and peaceful world order

The society and humankind has been painstakingly trained, through centuries, to be fascinated by black and white. This is irrespective of the fact that if human soul was to be assigned a color, it most definitely would have to be grey, neither black nor white. So deeply have we been prejudiced that black is associated with darkness, negativity and all things bad whereas white has been placed on the other end of the spectrum, signifying all that is good. Just in order to break this stereotypical association, even if only for the space of this article, whenever I talk about the negative extreme I would associate it with white and the positive extreme with black. However, the purpose of my writing here is not to talk about black and white but about the grey that lies in between and actually defines life, truth, reality, humankind and all existence.

In the Hindu religion, Rama and Krishna are considered as manifestations of God in the human form. Even the most devout of followers of Lord Rama are not able to convincingly defend the actions of the Lord in dismissing his pregnant wife into exile, on grounds of suspicion on her character by a few residents of Ayodhya, for having been abducted by King Raavan of Lanka and having to stay in Lanka for a year. So much so, that sage Tulsidas who has composed Ramcharitamanas, his version of the Ramayana, has chosen to completely ignore this episode in the life of his most revered and loved Lord, for he could not associate this with the Lord.

Coming to Lord Krishna, his philosophy of life, his teachings and his own personal life, are non-contestable testimonies of the ambiguities and the grey areas that exist in life. Not even the staunchest of believers could justify the conduct of the Pandavas, led by Yudhishthir, in pawning his wife, and yet Lord Krishna decidedly supports the Pandavas in the Kurukshetra fight.

The above are only just examples from these two epics. There are many more that can be quoted to prove that black and white are not the colours that define humankind, but grey does. Even the colour of the soul of the Gods, in their human manifestations, was grey. Even they could-not accord to themselves any other colour of existence, in order to be true to their human forms.

If the above is true, if only grey is real, it would mean that the world would have to agree on the principle of existence of multitudinous perspectives, of varied possibilities, of diverse opinions, of multiple interpretations, all of them as plausible as the other. It would mean the existence of an exciting world of ideas and opportunities that would cherish and relish the lively debates and discussions that would have to be the norm.

I recently read the interpretation of Mahabharata by Ananda Neelkanthan. He has beautifully depicted the great saga from the perspective of the vanquished and the vile. His interpretation lays bare the heart and soul of Suyodhana (known to the world as Duryodhana), and forces us to question our entrenched beliefs about right and wrong, about good and bad, about black and white. It turns our moralities upside down and yet again forces us to acknowledge the truth of Grey.

I also just finished reading a book titled ‘Mr. and Mrs. Jinnah’, throwing valuable light on the almost never discussed personal life of the much reviled (in India) Mohammad Ali Jinnah. It again had the same impact on me.

In any situation, whenever I have tried to dig deeper into things, tried to break down and get to the basics, I have always felt this deep inability to judge, to label, and most importantly, to hate. I have felt my worldview broadening and my deeply entrenched beliefs and prejudices losing their foothold.

Why is it that I have had to wait for three decades of my life to just roll by, before I was able to experience this intellectual excitement in my life? Possibly because those that wield power can continue to wield power only if they perpetuate a world of ignorance. A world where only one dominant perspective is allowed to exist and all others our either actively crushed or passively ignored. So, it was decided that the education system that had the power to turn around the world would be universally tamed. If knowledge was power, then all attempts would be made to concentrate this power in as fewer hands as possible.

And so, children will never be exposed to Anand Neelkanthan’s version of Mahabharata, whenever they are being told about this epic. They will never be encouraged to read into the human being that Jinnah was, when they are being taught (in India) that he was solely responsible for the partition of our great land. They will be nurtured and fed with lopsided one single dominant perspective and will be told that this is the ultimate truth.

The possibility of a more just, peaceful and harmonious co-existence of human beings is being nipped in the bud at every moment. The recognition of ‘The Power of Grey’ is the only thing that can save the world from hatred, death and destruction. Is anyone interested though, is the real question.

Mourning the Death of 'The City of Ideas'

There was once a city called ‘The City of Ideas’. It was known far and wide for its culture of questioning, debating, discussing, disagreeing, arguing and naturally, generating more and more ideas in the process. It was a city filled with numerous schools, colleges, Universities and Institutions of learning. People from all over the world vied to earn themselves the chance of visiting this city, studying here and staying here.

This thriving culture of dissent made a section of the population utterly uncomfortable. It could-not tolerate this threat to the structure of the society, which the ancients had so carefully designed. The painstakingly formulated rules and regulations that should govern society had to be followed to the hilt, otherwise only chaos would ensue. They watched this atmosphere of free exchange of ideas with horror. However, they did-not sit still. They started building up their strength right at the core, at the organizational level. With sheer discipline they soon built up a huge organization that had its presence right from the ground level, in schools, colleges and Universities, till the top, in the political echelons.

Finally, they became the rulers of the land. All opposition had been completely crushed. They were now not only ruling the city but also the minds and hearts of the majority of the city dwellers. However, there was still a section of the society that was causing mischief. They were the rebels and the dissenters who had the courage to think, critique and question the status-quo. They were refusing to surrender their inalienable right to their minds. All kinds of methods were used to make them fall in line. These dissenters were acting cleverly and carrying out all their activities within the confines of the law of the land. They could not be made to break the rules and laws. But how did it matter? Rules and laws could definitely be changed, to break them. It was done swiftly. With great alacrity. The dissenters were silenced by putting them behind bars, by questioning their claims of being ‘loyal’ and ‘dutiful’ citizens of the nation, by changing the definition of the term ‘patriotism’ overnight and by shifting the goalposts so often that no one could be sure of anything any longer. This strategy worked wonders on the majority, the large group of conformists, who now started worshipping the rulers. But this group of dissenters refused to be sidelined, ignored or silenced so easily. Something had to be done to eradicate the entire phenomenon from the root itself. Something had to be done so that the irritant breed of dissenters completely vanishes from the city, and no new dissenter is ever born in the city.

The final decision was taken and implemented. The death warrant for the culture of dissent, of debates, of disagreements, and of arguments, was signed. The destruction was now complete. This time the attack did-not target the branches, but the entire tree was uprooted. And how was it done? This entire culture of dissent had its birthplace in the system of open and free education that the ‘City of Ideas’ encouraged. It was a system where students were not only prodded to think, to question and to critique but were aggressively forced to do so. The culture of critical thinking was fiercely implemented. This culture, thus, became the natural strike point for the new rulers. They brought in a completely new policy, which ensured that it became impossible for students to get admission into the Institutions of learning. It was all of course completely justified, as the teachers in these hallowed institutions could not be expected to overburden themselves and consequently compromise on the quality of guidance they were providing to their under-studies. Thus, it was decreed that they be allowed only to take in a particular number of under-studies. This number of-course was not based on any logic or rationale or for that matter, any scientific study conducted by experts, but on whims and fancies of the rulers. And so, it was fixed to be so low that for years together, no student could think of taking up research in these institutions. Of-course it did-not matter that the teachers and the students alike, were appalled. They knew it was the death sentence for their respective communities and their cultures, which would now become totally extinct. But this was only a minor irritant, was it not? The larger goal had been successfully accomplished. The status-quo would now be preserved for generations to come. No-one could now rise to question the carefully designed structure of society. No-one could now even dream of being a dissenter. The era of conformists would now last for ages together, till such time that the original culture of the ‘City of ideas’ is completely struck off, even from the world of memories.

 

The Reign of 'Humanity'

I am told it was the best moment of their lives

When my parents saw my pretty little face, they say they forgot all strife

They loved me, adored me I felt I was the most blessed child

They made me feel special, beautiful, strong, dignified, let me have fun, allowed me to get wild

In the world I grew up in, I was only a human

I had a face and a name and was recognized by it, it didn’t matter whether I was a man or a woman

I had a body and a skin that had some color

Whether it was black or white or a shade in between, any consequence it had, to us it never even occurred

So engrossed were we in shaping our minds

Brimming with ideas, discussing, debating, thinking, reasoning, proud of our ‘aha’ moments, hungry to know, hungry to learn, hungry for knowledge, hungry for more and more that we could find

Me and my four buddies, we were on cloud nine that day

All of us together had grabbed that chance, we had finally made our way

To that temple of learning, the best in the world everyone used to say

We had been selected to satisfy our quest for knowledge, we would be interacting with the stalwarts, they were the best of the day

With dreams in our eyes, wanting to drown ourselves in the sea of knowledge we were headed for

With spring in our steps, we galloped ahead, there was no looking back now that we had got what we had aimed for

We landed in the land that housed the most ancient of civilizations, the land that was revered, the land of love, the land of hope, the land that accepted one and all with open arms and thus spread its name in all directions

This land housed the temple of learning

It was going to be our alma-mater for the next four years, it held within itself the answers to all our yearnings

Just a few days into our new world we had been

Walking the streets exploring the land, with all the newness we were just so keen

In our unblemished joy, we had had probably become blind

To those uncomfortable stares that greeted us everywhere from every pair of eyes we could find

We were treading along joyfully, oblivious to the lurking danger

And then it happened….in a jiffy we were on the ground surrounded by angry faces that couldn’t have looked stranger

What happened thereafter still seems like a nightmare that couldn’t be real

We were kicked, we were beaten, we were abused, paraded naked, and then dumped, left to fend for ourselves, with the hurt and pain solely ours to bear

Long after the shock, the physical pain and hurt had subsided

We were still clueless on the crime we had committed and the hatred by which the mob was guided

Not that when we learned of the reasons, we were any better aware

Of the rationale, the logic, the reason of this behavior; Our prized possession, our minds, just refused to hear

That the colour of our skins could have led to such brutality

That it could have triggered such extreme hatred that could wipe away all clarity

The clarity of thoughts, the clarity of conscience, the clarity of minds, and that of the hearts

That keeps one whole, that keeps one human, prevents one from breaking up into a thousand parts

One part worshipping skin colour, the second one caste, the third worshipping religion and the fourth one class

The list doesn’t end here it goes on and on till the time there are countless parts and sub-parts and sub-sub parts that it becomes impossible to count

That Whole, that One, that Complete, that Independent Entity

That used to be called ‘Human’ that proudly stood up tall for nothing but ‘Humanity’

That Whole was lying around broken into hundreds of thousands of parts

It still didn’t deter us enough to lose all faith that our rational minds had taught us would always last

We now knew that the times were tough, that it would not be easy

We would have to struggle hard, would have to pay a price that was far from measly

But the day would dawn when we would witness that world again

That carefree world of ideas, of our debates, our discussions, our dissents, our inventions, a world where only love, respect, dignity, life and the ones called ‘Humans’ would reign

 

 

The Idea of 'Humanity'

“Hindutva rashtra ki sanchetna hai. Is par prahaar mahapralay ko aamantran hai”. This is a statement that figures on the front page of the official website of the new Chief Minister of UP, Yogi Adityanath. I will attempt to unravel and decipher this statement in order to understand its meaning and import better. The first thing that is clear from the above statement, and its appearance on the front page of the official website of the Chief Minister is that this statement reflects the core ideology of the man. Thus, it is clear that he is a firm believer in Hindutva ideology and believes it to be the edifice on which the entire superstructure of the Indian society rests. This ideology essentially wants to establish India as a Hindu nation.

What does a ‘Hindu nation’ actually stand for? In effect, this would mean an official recognition to India being a natural place of abode for all those belonging to the Hindu religion. All the others may be allowed to reside in this nation, provided they accept the principle of India being a ‘Hindu Rashtra’. This would, in turn, mean that the State would no longer remain equidistant from all religions. Any practice sanctioned by the Hindu religion would have to be accepted and respected by each and every citizen of the nation. As an example, cow slaughter could be banned in the nation for the sole reason that the Hindu religion did-not permit it, and each and every citizen would have to abide to by the ban.

Would Hindu nation mean that all the citizens of the nation belonging to any other religion would cease to be Indian citizens? Definitely not. All the citizens of India would still continue to the citizens of the State. However, all the citizens, Hindus and non-Hindus alike, would have to accept that Hinduism was the national religion, that laws and rules that were made to encourage, protect or promote any religious practice of the Hindus would have to be equally obeyed by all as the law of the land and that the State was free to mete out any treatment that it saw fit to other religious denominations. In a Hindu State, if the State made a law that it would henceforth be necessary for all the citizens to practice the Hindu religion, it would have to be followed by one and all, or else they could choose to leave the State. Alternatively, the State could choose to allow everyone the freedom to practice their religion with the caveat that they would respect all the practices of Hindu religion and not come in the way of any such practice or ritual of the religion. In other words, all the non-Hindu religious communities would be at the mercy of the Hindu nation, to be treated as deemed fit by the incumbent powers. Thus, the success of Hindutva ideology may not necessarily lie in mass exodus of non-Hindu religious communities from the nation. The only condition necessary to be fulfilled may be ensuring that the claim of India being a Hindu nation is accepted by all those residing in India, and consequently, any thought or action that is, in the eyes of the State, detrimental to the Hindu religious beliefs, is not performed by any citizen of the nation. In such a situation, the State could, for example, impose beef ban, make Yoga compulsory for all, uplift Bhagvata Gita to the status of the National Scripture etc., and impose fines and punishment in law for not adhering to these strictures, without facing criticism on at least the account of diluting the secular credentials of the nation, because the nation would no longer remain secular (officially).

There would be umpteen difficulties though, if India became a Hindu nation. These would arise out of the complexities associated with the Hindu religion itself, and which were aptly pointed out and elaborated upon by Dr. B.R. Ambedkar in his writings. To begin with, how would one define who is a Hindu and who isn’t? Which scriptures would one choose to follow and adhere to, given the existence of multitudes of them, all with different messages and interpretations of being a Hindu? Which practices would be defined as being the core practices of the religion, and which would be defined to be peripheral and non-mandatory? There would arise many such questions and in all practicality, the interpretation of the ruling power will have to be accepted as the legitimate interpretation and be followed as the law of the land. In such a scenario, the physical presence or absence of the people of non-Hindu religions would not matter. They would be welcome to reside in India so long as they adhered to the law of the Hindu nation. However, if anyone dared to question or raise one’s voice, then the second part of the statement on the front page of the Chief Minister’s website would be the consequence, in his words, ‘mahapralay ko aamantran’.

In the above light, I would like to look at some of the news reports that have been very popular lately, wherein it has been reported that the Chief Minister has been holding a daily ‘darbaar’ since many years. Testimonies of many people from the Muslim religion have been provided, who have testified to the large-heartedness and secular credentials of the man. His one word of recommendation has helped them to solve many of their issues like getting reservations for train journeys, getting a booking for Haj pilgrimage etc. Many have also testified that they have been employed by him since years and have never faced any discrimination whatsoever.

Now, what is it they one can infer from these two seemingly contradictory images of the man? His own statement on the front page of his website declares Hindutva as his core ideology. On the contrary, his actions in his personal, day-to-day life, show him to be a large-hearted, helpful person towards one and all, Hindus and Muslims alike. How do we reconcile these two images of the same man? Is a reconciliation even possible?

Many of my acquaintances, on reading the news reports, have quickly jumped to the conclusion that the image of a Hindutva hardliner, projected by the media, is a purposeful attempt at maligning the man, who is otherwise a man of repute and secular credentials. The news reports have been cited as irrefutable proofs of his innocence and the guilt of the biased media people and pseudo-seculars and intellectuals in trying to tarnish his image. The only reason I beg to differ from this hurriedly arrived at conclusion is that the image of the man in public is not a figment of imagination, but a result of his own public statements, which have never been refuted by him. His website clearly declares his thoughts on Hindutva, and he is known to be very upfront with his views, nowhere trying to cloak or mask them. Why, then, the hurry to ascribe secular credentials to a man who himself is an avowed champion of Hindutva and is proud of it, far from being apologetic? Where does the need arise to try and justify him when he himself does not want to be justified?

Being pro-Hindutva, and at the same time being helpful towards everyone equally, in personal life, might not actually be as contradictory as it seems to be. Pro-Hindutva hardliners know for a fact that the numbers of non-Hindu population is so high in India that they cannot be wished away. That is why various strategies are used to mould the ‘others’ into one’s own idea of rightful existence. Hence, the movements like Shuddhi, ghar wapsi, etc. This may be just another of such strategies. Anyway, harmless and supine members of any religion or community, any number of non-questioning and malleable citizens, let them belong to any religion or caste or creed, are no problem at all for anyone. The problem arises when one starts to question, when one dissents, when one puts forward his/her views, and in such cases the Hindutva ideology is totally non-discrepant. It treats all such cases of dissents with one lens, and brands them all as anti-nationals, irrespective of their caste, creed, colour or religion.

The clash of ideologies here is much deeper. On the one hand is the one for which the Chief Minister openly stands, where one religion and its people are thought of as superior to all of the rest. Majority of the political community and majority of the people of the nation also are staunch supporters of this ideology, some overt and many other covert. This ideology refuses to see the human being behind the cloaks of caste, creed, religion, gender and all such human-made differences. On the other side is the one where a human being is thought of just that, a human being, where there is no requirement of associating a face with a religion, a caste, a region, a gender and all such differences that divide humans. This is the ideology of HUMANITY, and I am its unequivocal supporter.

The 'Hidden' is Revealed

Yogi Adityanath is the new Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh. As unbelievable as this might sound, this is a fact that cannot be wished away. Yogi Adityanath has been quite in the news owing to the multitude of statements he has made time and again, clearly announcing his religious preferences and his attitude towards other religious communities and the people of those communities. Most of these statements were so vitriolic and indefensible that many of the members of the core Hindutva ideology groups also had a tough time justifying these statements. The only justification that was heralded was that he was only one of the fringe elements and was far removed from the mainstream ruling party and its development agenda. It was also explained that the ruling party and the current Prime Minister had only growth and development of the nation on their minds (which had been a non-starter due to decades of mis-rule and corruption by the pseudo-seculars) and such ‘fringe elements’ were only to be ignored. It was also pointed out that anyone reading more into the unwillingness of the Prime Minister and the members of the ‘mainstream ruling party’ in severely castigating the now Chief Minister designate of UP, was only trying to unnecessarily exaggerate and blow things out of proportion.

The process has now begun. The path for movement of ‘fringe’ (if ever there was any) towards ‘mainstream’ has been laid down, that too, in concrete. The ‘fringe’ has been blessed, invited and welcomed into its fold by the ‘mainstream’. All the false, imaginary and artificial lines that separated the two have finally been erased purposefully. The ‘mainstream’ supporters of the ruling party and the ideology it stands for are rejoicing. The supporters at the ‘fringe’ have now suddenly been exposed. All the nuanced arguments of their thought process that they had laboriously built-up in their minds to justify to themselves and the world that the ‘mainstream’ and the ‘fringe’ was a water-tight separation, two parallel worlds that could never meet, have fallen completely flat. The ‘mainstream’ that they had so painstakingly created in their minds has finally become bold enough to throw away the cloak of neutrality and non-partisanship that it had worn till date. It has become bold enough to own up to its real agenda. The ‘hidden’ has come out in the open.

The real difficulty for the ‘fringe’ supporters now begins. Their much-beloved ‘mainstream’ party has announced its chosen path, leaving them with only two choices. One is that they too openly own up to their ‘hidden’ prejudices and biases, to their own ‘hidden’ Hindutva agenda, come out clean and then support their beloved party honestly, for what it stands and for what they stand. The second is, which they will be forced to choose, if they really were only pro-development and had no further hidden agendas, that they openly denounce this step of their beloved party and change course. This would require a courage of conviction and the dawning of an understanding that economic aspects cannot be separated from the social and the political. That no step can be seen completely in isolation from the other and judged on its own merit. That they would have to accept either the entire package or reject the whole of it.

However, what I have witnessed these past two-three days is a third path that these supporters have devised for themselves. Of continuing to persist in trying to save the false world they have built for themselves. Of putting forward arguments that are non-starters in the first place. So, it is argued now that a person deserves to be given one chance at least before writing him off, that bigger responsibilities are bound to make a person more responsible in his thoughts and actions, that the chosen one is much better and much more deserving than the alternatives, that a sweeping majority has already demonstrated the strength of peoples’ faith in the ruling dispensation and hence challenging its decision only confirms the case of ‘the grapes are sour’. Some go so far as to question one’s right of forming an opinion against a ‘Constitutional authority’ (whatever that is supposed to mean), and declaring that holding these doubts irrevocably proves one to be anti-national.

What really is it that this group of people is trying to argue? There can be only two possibilities. The first is that they are actually in favour of the complete agenda of the ruling dispensation, but overtly want to maintain that they are only pro-development and not pro-Hindutva. In this case, it is just a matter of time before they will clearly have to come out in the open, looking at the growing brazenness of their chosen party. The second is that they genuinely believe in the arguments that they are putting forward. That bigger responsibilities generally induce a sense of responsibility in an individual, and that everyone needs to be given a chance before writing them off. In this case, I have nothing more to say to them, only that, it is time that they wake up from their wishful thinking. The writing is on the wall and it is written in bold and clear letters, without an iota of doubt. And the truth, in this case too, is stranger and much more worrisome, than fiction.

Women - to be celebrated on a day?

I don’t want you to celebrate my existence on a particular day

I want you to understand that before being a woman I am a human, just as you

I don’t want you to offer me to stand ahead of you in a queue

I want you to let me stand on my own, just as you

I don’t want you to compliment me on my beauty, my style, my dress or my shoes

I want you to understand that I might also have an equally beautiful mind, and this in no way should threaten you

I don’t want you to extol my patience as my biggest virtue

I want you to understand that being impatient is as much a birthright for me as it is for you

I don’t crave your accolades for the excellent upbringing of our child

I want you to understand that motherhood is as much a joy and responsibility for me as fatherhood is for you

I don’t want you to look askance at me if I choose to not marry and live my life on my own terms

I want you to understand that marriage is as much a choice for me as it is for you

I don’t want you to take vows of protecting my dignity and my honour

I want you to create a world where the need for taking such vows no longer remains for you

I don’t want you to grant me equal status, and wear it as a sign of your virtue

I want you to understand that it is human beings who are natural creations, divided by us into me and you

I don’t want any special treatment on any day of any month of any year

I just want to live in a world where no ‘him’ feels the need to bestow special treatment on any ‘her’, and the world belongs to ‘us’, neither to me nor to you

 

The blind race towards self-destruction

Much has been commented on the Gurmehar Kaur issue. The young girl has been trolled and abused by many. Others have stood by her and appreciated her courage. The issue has occupied center stage in media (print and visual), on facebook, whatsapp groups, among politicians, celebrities and the entire nation. The crux of the views expressed by Gurmehar was that the act of war was a destructive act (a big revelation as if), that this destructive act was responsible for her father’s death, that she was opposed to use of violence (and any group that used it) in order to stifle expression of opinions contrary to one’s own and that she had understood the futility of harboring hatred towards a specific nation or community through personal experience and struggle within herself, and had since come to value peace over war and love over hatred. What is rankling my mind, after listening to the din of voices crying hoarse in order to be heard, is the issues (or non-issues) that dominate popular debates, the extent of polarization these debates can create, the level which one can attain in trying to defend one’s point of view and the role of mass media in determining the direction of a discourse.

India is a developing nation and is a part of a world which is dealing with numerous crisis situations. There are multitudinous issues that require immediate attention, which if not given, can lead to dire irreversible consequences. Visible and real climate change seems to me the foremost among these issues, which poses an existential threat to the entire world community. Depleting natural resources and increasing population is bound to result into a fierce competition among humankind, for their ownership. All this, because humankind accepted that survival of the fittest was the only theory by which one could exist, that blind competition was the only way possible by which society could be made to function effectively, that nature, earth and its resources were unlimited and at humankind’s disposal to be utilized at free will. The mantra was to aim for maximum material growth and unbridled power to rule over the world. In this mad race, everyone forgot to stop and think that even a maximum needs to have a concrete definition, that the resources are actually not non-extinguishable, that in proving one to be the fittest, one also stands the risk of being left alone in a vast universe of death and destruction, with not a soul surviving to even congratulate one on attaining the status of the ‘fittest’.

What has all of the above to do with Gurmehar Kaur? Nothing. Except that all the minds that are at work in inventing reasons to denounce her and all the minds that are at work (including mine) in trying their best to protect and support her, have loads of actual, real, concrete issues that have the capacity to destroy mankind, to work their minds on. There is no dearth of problems that are threatening humankind. Then why is it that we choose to blow out of proportion and spend days and months on issues that are actually non-issues? If a girl expresses her views against the horrors of war, against the futility of hatred, against the use of violence as a threat to silence voices, then what is it that makes one so insecure as to come all guns blazing against her, so disproportionate, as to scare her out of her wits? The seeds of hatred that are being sown, watered and carefully nurtured will reap only more hatred. Not a single soul will ever benefit out of this, be it the ones sowing these seeds, the ones quietly watching them grow, or the ones trying to nip them in the bud.

Today there is Gurmehar Kaur, tomorrow there will be someone else who will become an easy target for the entire nation to show their debating skills, the matchless arguments that they can garner. The media will have a field day and will use all tools at their disposal to finish at the top of the TRP race. In a course of a few days or months, things will fizzle out and one Gurmehar Kaur will be replaced by some other, for the entire cycle to be repeated again. In all this entertainment drama, there will be no thought spared for the individual for whom this entire experience will be a life-changing one, who, probably, will struggle to emerge from the impact of it, who, probably, will be a changed individual thenceforth. Not a thought will be spared to ruminate on the depths to which humankind is day-by-day stooping. Nobody will stop and think, take stock of the situation, try to make amends, because all will be pre-occupied with thinking of the next witty comment they can make, of the ways in which they can make their fellows trip and fall and race ahead themselves, of the numerous ways in which they can prove their superiority over others. The only thing that will be forgotten in this hullaballoo is that a blind and mad race can only lead to more madness and blindness and nothing more than that.

कुछ बात उन "गैरों" की

वो कहते हैं जिस सरज़मीं की नींव ही नफ़रतों पर टिकी है उसके वजूद को नापाक कहना ही सच्चा है

हम तो ये ही सोचते रह गए कि उन नफ़रतों के लिए अपनी भी ज़िम्मेदारी से उन्हों ने इतनी आसानी से मुंह फ़ेरा कैसे है

वो कहते हैं कि हमसे मुसलसल जंग-ए-ऐलान करना ही उस क़ौम का मक़सद है

हम तो ये ही सोचते रह गए कि करोड़ों इंसान जाने एक ही मक़सद से ज़िंदा कैसे हैं

वो कहते हैं कि मुसलमान लफ़्ज़ से ही हमें एक गैरियत का एहसास होना लाज़मी है

हम तो ये ही सोचते रह गए कि हर मुसलमान जो हमें मिला इतनी अपनाइयत से मिला क्यूँ है

वो कहते हैं कि अकबर हो या औरंगज़ेब या कि तेमूर ही हो सब एक थे कुचला उन्होने हमें सदियों तक है

हम तो ये ही सोचते रह गए कि जो अपने बताए जाते हैं उनसे इतना दर्द और खौफ़ का एहसास मिला क्यूँ है

वो कहते हैं कि इतनी तेज़ी से बढ़ रहे हैं वो कि दूर नहीं वो दिन जब इस सरज़मीं फिर उनका ही राज होगा

हम तो ये ही सोचते रह गए कि उनकी तो सुकून भरी ज़िंदगी की छोटी सी ख्वाइश भी एक दुआ भर है

वो कहते हैं कि अमन की चाहत तो हमें भी है पर चैन वो कभी लेने ही नहीं देते

हम तो ये ही सोचते रह गए कि चैन-ओ-अमन की दरकार करने वालों के दिलों में नफ़रतों का घरौंदा जाने बसा क्यूँ है..... नफ़रतों का घरौंदा जाने बसा क्यूँ है.....

 

Education: Towards Utilitarianism, away from Egalitarianism

This year’s budget has once again been lackluster in terms of allocations made to the Education sector. The Kothari Commission recommendation of an allocation of 6% of GDP has remained far from realization, with the allocation hovering in the range of 3-4% every year. Within the education sector also, elementary education is the most fund-deprived and neglected sector. The priorities of the State being made amply clear, year after year and government after government, my purpose here is, however, to discuss the kind of education that is thought desirable to be imparted, who makes these decisions and the impact of these policy decisions on the general populace.

The term ‘education’ has various definitions attached to itself. I will highlight two of them here (Taken from Dictionary.com). The first one defines education as, “the act or process of imparting or acquiring general knowledge, developing the powers of reasoning and judgment, and generally of preparing oneself or others intellectually for mature life”. The second definition defines education as, “the act or process of imparting or acquiring particular knowledge or skills, as for a profession”. Both these definitions focus on two entirely different aspects of the importance of education in our lives, its importance for utilitarian purposes, for earning our living, and secondly, its importance for being able to lead an intellectually mature life, for being able to develop into reasonable human beings, who can think, reflect and reason and decide the right and wrong for themselves and to act according to these.

When India attained its independence in 1947, it comprised of a majority of non-literate population. According to the 1951 census, the literacy rate in India was 18.33% (Wikipedia). Due to a huge number of illiterate population, the entire effort came to be directed at ensuring that more and more population of the country was able to attain literacy as fast as possible. Thus, providing access to all became a core concern of the policy makers in the initial years of independence. The literacy rate, according to the 2011 census, is 74.04% (Wikipedia). “The working definition of literacy in the Indian census since 1991 is as follows: Literacy rate: The total percentage of the population of an area at a particular time aged seven years or above who can read and write with understanding” (Wikipedia). Thus, literacy rates deal with only the superficial aspect of the broad term education, i.e., being able to read and write with understanding. Education, on the other hand, as defined previously, is much broader. India, being a third-world, relatively poor nation, with increasing population, has still not been able to achieve 100% literacy rates for its population. Hence, the focus has somehow never been able to completely shift from looking at quality more than quantity. In trying to ensure that all its population is able to at least develop the basic skills of reading and writing, the larger and more important aspect of what kind of education should be imparted to the population, has somehow always remained at the back-burner. Although, there have been National Curricular Frameworks, which have provided guidelines for development of curricula that has been thought desirable for the population, yet, there has been a lack of efforts in terms of measuring/looking at the output/outcome in terms of quality. Most of the assessments and analysis of the education system has been in terms of the quantitative and basic aspects like to what level are children able to read and write, the enrolment ratios, the percentage of out of school children etc. There have been limited efforts that have focused on what kind of education is desirable for the population, and more importantly whenever such frameworks have been laid down, the assessment of whether the desired goals and aims are being actually met or not.

From an analysis of the Indigenous Education system prevailing in India before the colonial take-over of the education system, Brahminical hegemony emerges as the dominant theme. This was characterized by emphasis on oral learning, memorization, a limited curriculum, absence of women education and education for the lower castes, especially Harijans, lack of teacher training, Brahminical dominance among teachers and a dominance of higher castes among students.

The British presence in India began with the coming of the East India Company in 1600, as a trading company. After an initial period of familiarization with the Indian setting, the policy of Britishers shifted from one of accommodation of Indian culture, to that of imposing their own ideas and superiority. The culmination of this policy was the adoption of ‘Macaulay’s Minute’, by the then Governor General William Bentinck, in 1835.

The analysis of colonial discourse reveals many similarities with the indigenous Brahminical tradition in terms of perpetuation of the theme of moral uplift of the masses, perpetuation of rote memorization and absence of a spirit of enquiry, lack of encouragement to alternative teaching methodologies, standardized and centrally imposed curriculum and a perpetuation of a class divide based on the educational attainments. Mass education could still not become a reality and women’s education also lagged behind.

 

Indian education system, post-independence, has been modelled on the education system proposed by Macaulay in his ‘Macaulay’s Minute’. It has thus promoted rote learning and memorization rather than conceptual thinking, holistic understanding and logical reasoning.

 

The National Curricular Framework, 2005 has been the latest of the curricular documents. It has attempted to lay down the broad aims of education and the kind of curricula that is thought desirable to achieve those aims. In my opinion, it has been a path breaking document in terms of defining the aims of education. It has broken away from the traditional dominant perspective that has been visible in the Indian education system. NCF, 2005 redefined and radicalized the aims of Education and placed tremendous emphasis on “Education for Peace” (Position Paper by National Focus Group on Education for Peace, 2006). The National Focus Group on ‘Education for Peace’ proposes the concept of peace as the all-powerful aim towards which the education system should be geared. It explains ‘Education for Peace’ as, “Education for peace is holistic. It embraces the physical, emotional, intellectual, and social growth of children within a framework of human values. Recognizing peace as holistic carries two major implications for education for peace. (a) Peace involves all aspects and dimensions of human existence in an inter-dependent way. Only those who are at peace with themselves can be at peace with others and develop the sensitivity it takes to be just and caring towards nature. Spiritual and psychological peace is neither stable nor viable without social, economic, and ecological peace. (b) Peace implies reciprocity. Values like love, freedom, and peace can be had only by giving them to others. Peace for oneself that excludes peace for others is a dangerous illusion. Education for Peace, hence, has a two-fold purpose: (a) to empower individuals to choose the path of peace rather than the path of violence; and (b) to enabling them to be peacemakers rather than the consumers of peace. Education for peace is, in this sense, an essential component of holistic basic education that aims at the comprehensive development of persons” (Position Paper by National Focus Group on Education for Peace, 2006). Such an education will enable an individual to think, reflect and reason, to decide the right and wrong for himself and herself and to act according to these. It would also imply a tolerance for the opinions and viewpoints of others, an ability to ‘agree to disagree’, to be able to live in peace and harmony within diversity of opinions. It would imply developing an ability of self-introspection and an ability to engage with diverse ideas, in the process also subjecting one’s own ideas and opinions to test. It also implies the development of an ability to recognize an individual’s liberty over his/her own thoughts and actions, as long as they do-not affect others. The recognition of this ability would enable an individual to be able to live in harmony with diverging and even conflicting viewpoints, without feeling the need to force one’s own opinions on others. However, the liberty to hold opinions needs to be accompanied with a responsibility, that of subjecting those opinions to the rigor and turmoil of being debated and discussed, lest they turn into static entities. This is the spirit that needs to be developed and inculcated through creating an atmosphere of engagement, discussions, constant generation of new ideas and refinement of the existing ones. Schools and teachers have an indispensable role to play in this, along with families and the society.

 

In my view, the above aims are the ones that need to be reinforced through our education system, for it to be meaningful in any manner. Even if we succeed to ensure 100% literacy rates, complete access and nil dropout rates, still if the content of what is being delivered to students is lacking, it will be a total waste of all the efforts put in.

 

However, what is thought of as essential to be imparted vide the education system depends to a large extent on the political dispensation and its ideology. Education is the most potent tool in the hands of any political dispensation, with the help of which it can propagate its ideology and mold the future of the nation in a manner it desires. The current political dispensation is leaving no stone unturned in making full use of this tool. The New Policy on Education is already in the pipeline. It is being touted as a policy that, once formulated, will be the result of a holistic consultative process. However, the framework for the consultation process has already been provided by the Central government, and is hosted on the website of Ministry of Human Resource and Development. Thirteen themes that have been listed down for discussions and feedback. The first theme is titled “Ensuring Learning Outcomes in Elementary Education”. The entire focus in this theme is on the need to develop basic language and numeracy skills in schools, improving reading, writing abilities etc. of children. Elementary education refers to the first eight years of schooling of a child. The entire discourse of elementary education is, in most of the discussions, limited to only how basic skills can be developed in children. When it comes to the theme of higher and secondary education, the focus is entirely on skill development, ICT, improving Science and Math education, use of PPP model etc. The overarching aim of education that has been fore fronted by the present dispensation is the utilitarian aim with focus on skill development, ICT etc. The aim of education to establish a just and humane society, which was emphasized by NCF, 2005, has been relegated to the background. This is no surprise though, and is completely in line with the ideology of this political dispensation, which has made it amply clear as well. The idea of a just and humane society, as per the current dispensation, is a society that believes in jingoistic patriotism, Hindutva nationalism, caste superiority, religious bigotry and so on and so forth. The proposed National Education Policy is a step in the direction of reflecting this political ideology in the school curriculum. Certain steps have already been taken in this direction, for example, the Rajasthan state government, has recently decided to distort and twist historical facts themselves, as a result of which, in the new history that children will now learn, Akbar, an outsider Muslim ruler, was defeated in the Battle of Haldighati, and the Indian/Hindu pride was upheld against the Muslim alien.

 

Another way in which this dispensation is trying to impact the minds of the young in schools is through the hidden curriculum. Post NCF, 2005, the NCERT textbooks that have been published are revolutionary in nature. There are certain other organizations as well that are working towards providing a meaningful learning experience for children. However, the teaching-learning of students is not limited to the stated curriculum itself. The hidden curriculum plays even a greater role in molding the minds of the young. To completely utilize the space of hidden curriculum, the present dispensation is leaving no stones unturned. I visited certain municipal schools in Mumbai, for a field study of mine, wherein I wanted to elicit from them their understanding of the term ‘patriotism’. These Municipal schools in Maharashtra are also taught a supplementary curriculum, called ‘Sangati’, for three years, (Classes V-VII), brought out by the Avehi Abacus Organization. This is an integrated curriculum, comprising of six kits, and aims to provide links between different subjects taught at school, help children integrate all that they learn in school and outside, build children’s self-confidence and develop skills of observation, analysis, articulation and decision-making, and provide a perspective based on values that emphasize interdependence and the need to live together in harmony. Equality, sensitivity, celebration of diversity, concern for the environment, and respect for work and the dignity of labour are some of the fundamental values that are emphasized throughout the Sangati series (this is the stated aim of the organization, which can be found at their website). Through this curriculum students are being exposed to pretty mature understanding of various issues like caste, religion, democracy, patriotism etc. However, during my field study I found that the actual impact of this curriculum was muted as compared to its potential impact. This, according to me, was firstly because of the interface between curriculum and students, i.e., teachers, who have been trained to teach the dominant perspective, and find it difficult to deal with their own prejudices and biases that are continuously fed in a society that rewards conformity to dominant viewpoints. Secondly, hidden curriculum played a major role, in the impact of the curriculum being muted. For instance, all the municipal schools had been instructed to celebrate Independence Day in a particular manner, wherein they were instructed to conduct various programs/competitions like patriotic songs singing, painting, declamations, speeches etc. (related to ‘patriotism’/’nationalism’) and send a proof of the same (photos/videos etc.) to the concerned officials. The schools were busy doing this work even till the twenty third of the month of August (the last day to submit their reports and proofs). Such forced celebrations of Independence Day in certain particular manners obviously left no room for imagination for the students to think about the meaning of the term ‘Independence’, or what else could be done on this day etc. Such directives purposely shifted focus towards jingoistic and loud and slogan chanting patriotism, rather than allowing the children to actually understand and internalize the meaning of patriotism, which could also mean, for instance, striving to do one’s best in every situation, living in peace and harmony with others, trying to build a just and humane society etc.

With the intentions of the political dispensation sufficiently clear, it is only a matter of time however, when the entire discourse would have been completely tilted more and more away from justice, egalitarianism and humanity. That day, however dreaded and dreadful, does-not seem very far. Considering the bleak scenario, it becomes an urgent duty of all who are concerned to at least try and de-accelerate the process of deterioration of the societal mindset and continuously provide and highlight alternate and more accommodative and just ways of thinking and acting.

 

 

 

IGP Kalluri asked to proceed on leave: A necessity, not a virtue

IGP Kalluri, the man alleged to have committed untold atrocities on clueless tribal people in Bastar, and the scores of human rights activists who have tried to intervene time and again in order to demand at least a semblance of justice for these innocent people, (who have been mercilessly mass-murdered, raped, beaten ruthlessly, maimed etc.) has been very graciously asked by the government to proceed on ‘medical leave’. This, after the activist Bela Bhatia was openly threatened and forced to leave Bastar, and the NHRC took notice and put the government and IGP Kalluri in the dock. This is not the only incident though, where the man has been accused of hounding human rights activists. In the recent past, there have been a series of incidents where any human right activist who has tried to stand up for the people of Bastar, has been either abused and hounded out of the state, and in some cases, even slapped with a murder case, by the State actors themselves, under the able leadership of IGP Kalluri.

It is pertinent to understand here that any action or inaction by the police force under Kalluri’s leadership has to be read as the action and inaction of the State as well. The declared agenda of Kalluri against the tribal population of Bastar, and any human rights activists trying to represent the concerns of that tribal population, could not have been practiced so blatantly without the implicit and tacit support of the State. It is in fact the best indicator of the State policy. Keeping in line with this very policy, Kalluri has been asked to proceed on leave. There has been no requirement felt by the State to suspend the man and at the least institute an enquiry against him. Instead, he has been rewarded with a gracious period of long leave, on medical grounds (where none existed), after which he can be quietly asked to re-join service at some other place and the horrific crimes committed by him during his tenure at Bastar, can be easily forgotten about.

In all this hogwash, where should one look even for a ray of hope for justice, even if delayed, for the innocent tribal population that has faced wrath at the hands of the State itself, the State which is constitutionally and legally bound to protect them? How will justice be delivered to those who dared and keep daring to stand up to this State repression, incidentally forced to step in because the State chooses not to do its job? This whole ‘proceed on leave’ drama is just another wily step by the State to wriggle out of the mess it has created for itself.

The big question, however, still remains unanswered. The Constitution and the legal-justice system emanating out of it has divided the State into three organs, the Executive, the Legislature and the Judiciary. The Legislature is responsible for passing laws and ensuring their compliance. The Executive is responsible for implementing these laws and maintaining law and order in the State. It is responsible and answerable to the Legislature. The Judiciary is responsible for administering justice to the common man when their rights are trampled upon by the State or the non-state actors. All these three organs are collectively responsible to the Constitution, and finally to the people of the nation, as it is “We, the people” who have given ourselves this Constitution. Now, if this very State and the humungous system created (at least theoretically) by the people and for the people, turns against those very people, to whom should the people turn to? Why is it that justice should have to be demanded and struggled for and snatched from the system, by few individuals and groups who care? Human rights, as the term itself indicates, are rights that every human being has, just by virtue of being a human. Why is it then that there is a need for a special category of people called the ‘’human rights activists”, fighting incessantly (against the State itself) for these basic minimum human rights to be guaranteed to the people?

The proceeding on leave by Kalluri may be a brief respite for the harassed people of Bastar, however, in effect it is only a tactical move by the State, a move out of compulsion. The State should not be allowed to get away with trying to mask a necessity as a virtue.